Floating-weir head-gate.



No. 775,582. PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904.

M. S. HART &,H. K. PAIRALL. FLOATING WEIR HEAD GATE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.16, 1904.

no MODEL. 2 SHEBTS-SHEET 1.

Inven tor-a witnesses No. 775,532 PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904.

Y M. S. HART & H. K. FAIRALL.

FLOATING WEIR HEAD GATE.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.16,1904.

N0 MODE mm mm Witnesses Inventor's- UNTTED STATES Patented November 22,1904.

PATENT EEicE.

MURRAY S. HART AND HARRY KENNETH FAIRALL, OF SNIPES, COLORADO.

FLOATING-WEIR HEAD-GATE.

SIFEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. '77 5,532, datedNovember 22, 19.04.

Application filed February 16, 1904. Serial No. 193,806. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, MURRAY S. HART and HARRY KENNETH FAIRALL, citizensof the United States,residing at'SnipesJn the county of Mesa and Stateof Colorado, have invented a certain new and usefuf Floating-VVeir Head-G-ate, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of our invention are to provide a head-gate which isdesigned to be floated near the surface of the water in which thehead-gate is to be used, having a flue or spillway leading from itthrough an embankment which forms the sides of the lake for the purposesof irrigating.

A further object is to provide a head-gate which is so mounted that buta small amount of water-pressure will be against the head-gate onaccount of the way in which it is mounted. It is customary in the use ofdevices of this class to have a sluiceway mounted near the bottom of thelake and at one edge thereof and have a gate for controlling thesluiceway. The amount of pressure against such a gate is very great andoften causes considerable inconvenience and trouble in adjusting thegate, and such a sluiceway is very easily put out of repair on accountof the great pressure of the water on it, and it causes a great deal ofinconvenience when it is necessary to repair it, as it is not easilyaccessible. use of our device, inasmuch as the greater part of theworking portions of the device are near the water-surface, it can beeasily repaired and will not as easily get out of repair as the ordinaryweir, owing to the fact that there is but little water-pressure againstany portion of the device.

A further object is to provide a weirbox which can be easily adjustedrelative to the head-gate, so that an opening for the water can be hadbeneath the head-gate and above the bottom of the weir-box, and thus byregulating the height of the weir-box the amount of water which flowsthrough it and the spillway connected with it is easily determined.

It is our object, further, to provide a device of this class which willoperate regardless of the height of the water of the lake as well as ifthe sluiceway were at the bottom of the lake Inthe that is to say, onaccount of the floating arrangement of our device it will be maintainedconstantly in the same position relative to the water-surface regardlessof the height of the water in the lake.

' Our invention consists in certain details in the construction,arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device wherebythe objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully setforth, pointed out in our claims, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a top or plan view of the completeweir-box. Fig. 2 shows in perspective our adjustable weir-box with thehead-gate removed. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the joint between thespillway and the flume.

- Fig. a shows in perspective one of the floats with a portion thereofbroken away to show the interior of the air-space. Fig. 5 is a detailview of the wedge for automatically closing the head-gate when ourdevice is in a certain position. Fig. 6 is'a vertical sectional View ofthe device cut on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1 and shows in vertical section aportion of the bank of the lake. Fig. 7 is .a rear elevation of thefloats, weir-box, and head-gate and the mechanism for adjusting theweir-box. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of one of the floats,showing the way in which the frame of the device is mounted thereon.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, we have used thereference-numeral 10 to indicate the dam or bank of the reservoir orlake.

The reference numeral 11 indicates the flume leading through thedam 10and having an elbow 12 at its rear end, said elbow 12 having a clamp 13,to which the spillway of our device, to be described hereinafter, isdesigned to be connected so as to form an opening from the weir-boxthrough the flume.

Throughout the description the front of the device is that which isnearest the dam or bank of the reservoir and the rear is away from saiddam. We have provided two floats 14 and 15, which are designed to beplaced in the water adjacent to the dam. The floats 14 and 15 are madeperfectly air-tight, and each has an airchamber 16 inside of it to makethe float sufficiently buoyant to maintain the operative parts of ourdevice. On top of the float and extending longitudinally of it are theretaining-strips 17 and 18, each having beveled inner edges designed tohold in position the lower beveled portions of the posts 19 and 20,

which are mounted in the groove 21, which is formed by theretaining-strips 17 and 18. Extending upwardly from the float 15 andcapable of longitudinal adjustment of the groove 21 are the posts 19 and20, which are connected with each other at their upper ends by means ofthe connecting-strip 23. Mounted on top of the float 14 are theretaining-strips 24 and 25, which are of the same size and constructedin the same way as the retaining strips 17 and 18. The posts 26 and 27are also mounted in a groove 28, which is similar to the groove 26.These posts stand in an upright position and are capable of longitudinalmovement in the groove 28 and are connected together at their upper endsby means of the connecting-piece 29. There is a series of rollers 30attached to the bottom of each of the posts 19, 20, 26, and 27, andthese rollers are designed to enable the posts to be easily adjustablein the slots 21 and 28, respectively. We have also provided a screwattachment 31, which is designed to move the posts longitudinally of thegrooves in which they are mounted and maintain them in any desiredposition in said groove.

Connecting the posts 20 and 26 are the connecting-pieces 32 and 33, andconnecting the posts 19 and 27 are the connecting-pieces 34 and 35.These connecting-pieces 32, 33, 34, and 35 are designed to hold all ofthe upright posts in position, so that the floats will always be thesame distance from each other. We have provided two braces 36 to connectthe posts 19 and 27 with the connecting-piece 34. We have also providedtwo corresponding braces to connect the posts 20 and 26 with theconnecting-piece 33, so that the framework, which is' formed by theposts and the connecting-pieces, will be perfectly rigid and the floats14 and 15 maintained in position relative to each other and relative tothe surface of the water. WVe have also provided the braces 37 whichserve to make the frame more rigid.

Mounted in the connecting-pieces 32, 33, 34, and 35 and extendingbetween them is a shaft 38, having a gear-wheel 39 mounted on thatportion of it which is between the connecting-pieces 34 and 35. Mountedon that portion of the shaft 38 which is between the connecting-pieces32 and 33 is a second gearwheel 40. Mounted on the forward end of theshaft 38 and outside of the connectingpiece 33 is a cog-wheel 41, andoutside of the cog-wheel 41 is a pawl 42,-designed to prevent therearward rotation of the shaft 38 when this pawl is in engagement withthe cog-wheel 41. Outside andin front of the cog-wheel 41 and on theshaft 38 is an operating-wheel 43, having a handle 44 there-- on, all ofsaid wheels being firmly attached to the shaft 38, so that as the wheel43 is rotated the shaft and the wheel which is mounted on it will becorrespondingly rotated.

Extending vertically of the frame and in mesh with the gear-wheels 39and are the racks 45 and 46, respectively, so arranged that as thegear-wheels 39 and 40 are rotated in one direction the racks will belowered and when rotated in the opposite direction the racks will beraised. We have provided a roller 47, which is mounted between theconnecting-pieces 34 and 35 and which is in engagement with the backside of the rack 45 and is designed to maintain the rack 45 in po sitionrelative to the gear-wheel 39. A similar roller 48 is mounted betweenthe connectingpieces 32 and 33 and in engagement with the rack 46 formaintaining it in position relative to the gear-wheel 40. It will beseen by the use of this arrangement that the racks will besimultaneously raised or lowered as the shaft 38 is rotated.

Firmly attached to the lower end of the racks 45 and 46 is a weir-box49, having a bottom portion which is of substantially the same length asthe floats and has the side portions 50 and a top portion 50 therein.Near the extreme rear end of the weir-box is a head-gate 51, so arrangedas to prevent any water passing through the weir-box when the head-gateis in a closed position, or, in other words, the bottom portion of theweir-box 49 is in engagement with the lower portion of the head-gate 51.This head-gate 51 is adjustably connected with the extreme rear end ofthe shaft 38 by means of a supportingpiece 52, which is loosely mountedon the shaft 38. At the lower end of this supporting-piece 52 is a slot53, extending vertically of the supporting-piece. Bolts 54 and 55 extendthrough the slot 53 and through the head-gate 51, these bolts havingthumb-screws 56 on them so arranged that the thumbscrews can be loosenedand the head-gate 51 raised or lowered relative to the supportingpiece52. It will be clearly seen that inasmuch as the head-gate is maintainedfirmly in position by means of the arrangements of parts described whenthe lower portion of the weir-box 49 is in engagement with the head-gate51 no water will be allowed to pass through the weir-box; but as soon asthe weir-box is moved downwardly and away from the head-gate 51 anopening is formed between the lower portion of the head-gate and thebottom of the weir-box 49, and the water will be allowed to pass throughsaid opening. This lowering and. raising of the weir-box is accomplishedby raising and lowering the racks 45 and 46 by means of the gearingabove described, so that as the floats 14 and 15 lie in the water theweir-box and the lower portion of the head-gate will also be in thewater and water will be'prev'ented from passing through the weir-box;but as soon as the weir-box is lowered away from the head-gate 51 anopening will be formed between the head-gate and the weir-box, inasmuchas the floats 14 and are maintained in position and the water will beallowed to pass from the lake or reservoir through the weir-box. It willbe seen by this arrangement that the amount of water which is allowed toflow through the weir-box can be easily determined.

Pivotally attached to the upper portion of the connecting-piece 34 is afloat 57, which is designed to be held normally in Fig. 6 of thedrawings, which is substantially at right angles to the posts of theframe of our device. Normally mounted between the connectingpiece 34:and the upper portion of the gatesupporting piece 52 is a wedge 58,which when moved upwardlywill force the gate-supporting piece 52outwardly and off from the shaft 38, and thus allow the supporting-piece52 and the gate which is attached to it to fall downwardly. Pivotallyattached to the wedge 58 and to the float 57 is a rod 59, so arrangedthat if the float were raised upwardly the wedge would be movedupwardly, and thus cause the connecting-piece 52 to be forced outwardlyfrom its position on the shaft 38, and thus allow the gate to movedownwardly. This arrangement of the wedge 58 and the float 57 is toprovide a safety device for our mechanism, so that if a leak ever occursin the floats and the entire mechanism moves downwardly into the waterthe float 57, as soon as it engages the surface of the water, will bemaintained on the surface, and as the entire machine moves downwardlyinto the water the wedge 58 will be moved upwardly and thesupporting-piece 52 moved out of engagement with the shaft 58, thusallowing the head-gate 51 to move to its closed position, and thus shutoff the water-supply. This is designed to prevent any water passingthrough the weir-box, and thus prevent the flooding of the land if theoperative parts of our device get out of operation or do not performtheir functions and to sink beneath the surface of the water.

Y Pivotally attached to the bottom of the weir-box is a spillway 60,leading from this weir-box to the flume 11. This spillway is providedwith ,an elbow 61, designed to be held in position relative to the elbow12 by means of the clamp 62, which is mounted on it, and it is attachedto the clamp 13 by means of the bolts 63. Attached to the flume is aupwardly and downwardly as the water in the reservoir rises and falls.

In practical operation our device is designed to be usedfor-irrigatingpurposes where it is customary to store up a large amountof water in a reservoir and where it is necessary to keep a constantflow of water running from the reservoir to the surrounding country, itbeing particularly desirable to have means whereby the flow of the watercan be easily and readily regulated and which will not easily get out ofrepair. By the use of our device this purpose is readily accomplished inthe manner above set forth, for by the operation of a single wheel theflow of the water can be easily controlled.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a stationaryhead-gate, a weir-box in engagement with the head-gate, means for movingthe weir-box vertically, for the purposes stated.

2. In a device of the class described, floats, a head-gate connectedwith said floats, a weirbox mounted on the floats, and capable ofvertical adjustment relative to the head-gate, for the purposes stated.

3. In a device of the class described, floats,

an adjustably-mounted head-gate connected with said floats, and aweir-box mounted on the floats and capable of vertical adjustmentrelative to the head-gate, for the purposes stated.

4. In a device of the class described, floats,

a head-gate connected with said floats, a weirboX mounted on the floatsand capable of vertical adjustment relative to the head-gate, and aspillway hinged to said weir-box, for the purposes stated. 5. In adevice of the class described, floats, an adjustably-mounted head-gateconnected with said floats, a weir-box mounted on the floats and capableof vertical adjustment relative to the head-gate, and a spillway hinged.to said weir-box, for the purposes stated.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of two floatsattached together, a gateway mounted between said floats, a weir-boxdesigned to be closed at one end by said gateway, and means connectedwith said floats for raising the weir-box vertically.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of two floatsattached together, a gateway mounted between said floats, a weir-boxdesigned to be closed at one end by said gateway, means connected withsaid floats for rais ing the weir-box vertically and a spillway attachedto said weir-box.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of two floatsattached together, a gateway mounted between said floats, a weir-boxdesigned to be closed at one end by said gateway, means connected withsaid floats for raising the weir-box vertically, a flume, and a spillwayconnected with said weir-box and with said flume.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination of a float, aframe mounted above said float, a head-gate connected with said frame, ashaft mounted at the top of said frame, hav ing gear-wheels thereon,racks in engagement with said gear-wheels, a weir-box attached to saidracks, and means for rotating the shaft to raise or lower the weir-box,for the purposes stated.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination of afloat, aframe mounted above said float, a head-gate connected with said frame, ashaft mounted atthe top of said frame, having gear-wheels thereon, racksin engagement with said gear-wheels, a weir-box attached to said racks,means for rotating the shaft to raise or lower the weir-box, and meansfor maintaining the weir-box in position relative to the head-gate.

11. In a device of the class described, the combination of a float,aframe mounted above said float, a head-gate connected with said frame,a shaft mounted at the top of said frame, having gear-wheels thereon,racks in engagement with said gear-wheels, a weir-box attached to saidracks, means for rotating the shaft to raise or lower the weir-box, anda spillway leading from said weir-box.

12. In a device of the class described, the i V combination of afloat, aframe mounted above said float, a head-gate connected with said frame, ashaft mounted at the top of said frame, having gear-Wheels thereon,racks in engagement with said gear-wheels, a weir-box attached to saidracks, means for rotating the shaft to raise or lower the weir-box, anda spillway leading from said weir-box, and a flume connected with saidspillway.

13. In a device of the class described, the combination of a float, aframe mounted above said float, a head-gate connected with said frame, ashaft mounted at the top of said frame, having gear-wheels thereon,racks in engagement with said gear-wheels, a weir-box attached to saidracks, means for rotating the shaft to raise or lower the weir-box,means for maintaining the weir-box in position relative to thehead-gate, and a spillway leading from said weir-box.

14. In a device of the class described, the combination of a float, aframe mounted above said float, a head-gate connected with said frame, ashaft mounted at the top of said frame, having gear-wheels thereon,racks in engagement with said gear-wheels, a weir-box attached to saidracks, means for rotating the shaft to raise or lower the Weir-box, aspillway leading from said weir-box, and a flume connected with saidspillway, and means for holding the frame in position relative to theflume.

15. In a device of the class described, the combination of a float, aframe mounted above frame, a shaft mounted at the top of said frame,having gear-wheels thereon, racks in engagement with said gear-wheels, aweir-box attached to said racks, means for rotating the shaft to raiseor lower the weir-box, means for maintaining the weir-box in positionrelative to the head-gate, and means for adjusting the framelongitudinally of the float.

16. In a device of the class described, the combination of afloat, aframe mounted above said float, a head-gate connected with said frame, ashaft mounted at the top of said frame, having gear-wheels thereon,racks in engagement with said gear-wheels, a weir-box attached to saidracks, means for rotating the shaft to raise or lower the weir-box, aspillwayleading from said weir-look, and means for adjusting the framelongitudinally of the float.

17. In a device of the class described, the combination of a float,aframe mounted above the float, a shaft mounted at the top of saidframe, a head-gate, a supporting-piece connecting the said gate with theshaft, a float attached to the frame, means attached to said float andsaid supporting-piece for throwing the supporting-piece off of the shaftwhen the float engages the surfaces of the water.

18. In a device ofthe class described, a weirsaid float, a head-gateconnected with said box, a head-gate in engagement with the weirbox andmeans for moving the weir-box toward and away from the head-gate.

19. In a'device of the class described, a weirboX, a head-gate inengagement with the weirbox, means for moving the weir-box toward andaway from the head-gate, and means for maintaining the weir-box inposition relative to the head-gate.

20. In a device of theclass described, a weirboX, a head-gate inengagement with the weirboX, means for moving the weir-box toward andaway from the head-gate, and a spillway leading from said weir-box.

21. Inadevice of the class described, a weirboX, a head-gate inengagement with the weirboX, means for moving the weir-box toward andaway from the head-gate, and a spillway leading from said weir-box, anda flume connected with the spillway.

22. In a device of the class described, aweirbox, a head-gate inengagement with the Weirbox, means for moving the weir-box toward andaway from the head-gate, means for maintaining the weir-box in positionrelative to the head-gate, and a spillway leading from said weir-box.

MURRAY S. HART.

HARRY KENNETH FAIRALL.

Witnesses:

S. C. SKINNER, J. T. WINTER.

